Sentence Subject (이 ~가) & Topic (는 ~은)

In this entry we will learn about sentence subject and topic. In order to understand a sentence or to build a sentence we 1st need to understand how to use the subject particle (이 ~가) and topic particle (는 ~은).

Fist we need to keep in mind...
*when it is 1st time a subject is mentioned or when it is a new info
thus we attach 이/가 (-i/-ga) to it.

*When it is an old info or a repeated subject, thus we attach 는/은 (-neun/-eun)
to it.

For example.
A. 이것이 무엇이에요? [igeos-i mueos-ieyo?] {what's this?}
B. 그것은 우산이에요. [geugeos-eun usan-ieyo] {That's an umbrella}

이것[igeos] = the front part 이[i-] means 'this' and the other part
것 [geos/geot] means 'thing'. So when its 그것 [geugeot] it means 'that thing'
since 그[geu-] means 'that'.
무엇 = what.
우산 = umbrella.

You can create topics from any element (except verb) by pulling the element out of
place and saying it first (은~는 attached).

For example
"That student is studying Korean at school now"

A."That student은/는 is studying korean at school now."
-this sentence focus on 'What about that student'. New info is the nature of activity,
not who is doing it.

B."Now은/는 that student is studying Korean at school."
-this sentence is to mention 'what is happening NOW'.

C."At school은/는 that student is now studying korean."
-this sentence is to mention 'whats going on at school'.

"what's your job?"... Jobs & workplaces..

"what's your job?" or in hangul 직업이 뭐예요? [jigeob-i mwo-yeyo?].. so in this entry we'll talk about jobs and workplaces..
jigeob = job and the subject particle -i at the end of the word shows its the subject of the sentence..
mwo = what and we have the -yeyo particle which means am/is/are etc.. we use the particle -ieyo when the word ends with a consonant..so since mwo ends with vowel -ㅝ the particle we use is -yeyo.. these "-yeyo" and "-ieyo" particles are called the copula..

Lets memorize a few more keywords....
I'll wont provide the romanization for this so I hope you'll figure it out your self...

Jobs...
Teacher = 교사
Student = 학생
Doctor = 의사
Chef = 요리사
Accountant = 회계사
Driver = 운전사
Office worker = 회사원
Store assistant = 점원
Engineer = 엔지니어
Actor = 배우
Singer = 가수

Workplaces...
Factory = 공장
Theater = 극장
College/University = 대학교
Store = 가게
Office = 사무실
Hospital = 병원
Company = 회사
Job = 직어
work = 일해요

So when someone ask you "직업이 뭐예요?.. " how do you answer that in korean?..
simple really...

저는 학생이에요. [jeo-neun haksaeng-ieyo]. {I'm a student}..
thats if u are a student.. if u are a doctor then u'd answer..

저는 의사예요. [jeo-neun uisa-yeyo]. {I'm a doctor}..
can you see the difference for the copula when the word ends with either a consonant or a vowel?..
jeo = 'I' + the topic particle '-neun'.. means the topic of the sentence is 'I'..

other phrases that we could learn...
퇴직 했어요. {I'm retired}

직업이 없어요. {I dont have a job}
없어요 = 'dont have'. this is the opposite of 있어요 = have.

집에서 일해요. {I work from home}


To say where you work, use the particle -에서 {from} with verb 일해요 {work}.
example..

저는 의사예요. 병원에서 일해요. [jeo-neun uisa-yeyo. byeongwon-eseo ilhaeyo] {I'm a doctor. I work in a hospital}

Subject Particle?

안녕하세요!!..


Have you been revising the past lesson?..if yes then thats good... I've been revising my self too.. since im not THAT good in Hangul.. I'm still new in this language, so if i said anything wrong or thought you something wrong, please do tell...

if you havent been revising then... THE TURTLE IS DISAPPOINTED.LOL

ANYWAY....

What are “subject particles”? ..Besides being the title of the entry for today..

Well, ‘subject particles’ are placed directly after the subject of a sentence or question and roughly translate as “as for”. There are 4 subject particles, 2 used for word ending in vowels and 2 for word ending in consonants.

Meet… -은 [-eun] , - 는[-neun] , -이[-i], -가 [-ga].

-이 and –가 are “neutral” subject particles while –은 and –는 are “emphatic” subject particle.

Okay, let me give a simple example to understand this better.
1. 잡지는 탁자 외에 있어요. [japji-neun takja wi-e isseoyo]. {The magazine is on the table}

2. 잡지가 탁자 외에 있어요. [japji-ga takja wi-e isseoyo]. {There is a magazine on the table}

갑기 = magazine
탁자 = table
외에 = on/above
있어요 = have/is

All the words are the same in these two sentences except for the subject particles used –neun and –ga. Since “Japji” [magazine] ends with a vowel, we use subject particles –neun or –ga.
Although there is only a slight difference between these two sentences but the meaning is totally different because of the use of the subject particle. In the first sentence, the subject is emphasized with the use of –neun while in the second sentence the subject is no longer emphasized.

Note : you can use the same sentence to make it in the form of question just by simply raise the intonation at the end.